Manifold with manually actuated valves for controlling fluid flow



1953 MANIFOLD wrrr rumab VALVES 2647'659 FOR CONTROLLING FLUID FLOW Filed June 24. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l I N V EN TOR. Wax/4M iii? Aug. 4, 1953 w. F. 'BERCK. 2,647,659

MANIFOLD-WITH MANUAL 'Y ACTUATED VALVES FOR CONTROLLING FLUID FLOW Filed June 24. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 11 4; N4 :3- 1/ f 1i w I! lk fl I a 6/ INVENTOR. W/u/M/T 5:!!! BY g- 4 W. F. BERCK MANIFOLD .wI'rH MANUALLY ACTUATED VALVES FOR CONTROLLING FLUID FLOW v Eild June 24, 1949 3' She't's-Sh'at. 3

INVENTOR' the manifold operating anism "with otherparts Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT .oFFicEf MANIFOLD WITHMANUALLY AQTUATED VALVES FOB/CONTROLLING FLUID FLOW William F. Berck, Haywa ri'fialif assignor to Ralph N. Brodie Company Oakland, Calif., a

corporation of California ApplicationJune24, 1949., Serial imrmpss 4 Claims. (01:222-44) This invention relates to a manifold. More particularly, it relates to a manifold operable in conjunction with a meter mounted, on a tank truck.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved manifold of the character described.

It is a furtherobject of the invention "to provide an improved outlet manifold for operation with a tank' truck meter liver ing liquid from the a. gravity line.

It is a still further object of the inventionto meter to a pump or to which is capable of deprovide an outlet manifold of the character described which is operable in connection with and is controllable by a tank truck meter and which is characterized byseveral safety features which ensuresafe andfool-prodf operation.

These and other objects .of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims.

One form which the invention may assume. is exemplified in. the following description and villustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings; in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, partly broken away and with the coverremoved, of the manifold of the invention shown as being mounted upon a tank truck meter.

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line '22 -.of Fig, 1 showing certain details of construction'of mechanism.

' Fig; '3 is a fragmentary view similar to that of Fig. '1 but with themanifold coverinplace.

Fig. 4 is a section Fig. .1 showing the clutch mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. is a top plan view of certain of the operating elements of the manifold operating mechremoved and showing the operating mechanism in one adjusted position.

Figs. 8, "9 and 10 are similar views to that of Fig. 7 showing the operatingmechanismin other adjustedpositions.

' Fig. 11 is a view in elevation of one Referring to the partly in section .and partly of the outlet valves. drawings, and moreparticulady to Fig. '1, a me'ter ID of .known construction is shown, such meter having an air strainer H of known construction. mounted at its inlet, a front dome [3, a rear cover 14 and an outlet 15 "onwhic'h a manifold I6 is mounted. The usual taken along the line 4-4 of "be regarded as lever .35 is disposed :hy means of rests on a collar .atively to one another. Jth'eshaft '31 is,squared,.as showmand the collar simple check valve and a collector tank (none fof which is shown) and a passage l7 and check valve It for use during gravity operation'to provide the necessary siphon breakingaction. 'An opening l9 andplug 20 are provided for purposes "of inspection and repair.

"The manifold it includes a central chamber and left and right hand valve structures ZGa and 2:51) which, for purposes of illustration, will intended for connection to a pump and to a gravity line, respectively. The valvestructures 26a and 26b are identical and ,are of known construction. .Each comprises an outlet 2'! normally closed by a valve '28 under pressure of a spring 29, and for opening v.th'e valve, a lever .30 and .a squared shaft '3l are provided. The lever 30 is connected at one end to the valve 28 and at its other end to thesquared shaft 3|. The shaft 3| is operated by themanifold operating mechanism described hereinafter.

32 and studs 33 are provided for attachment of a hose, pipe or other outlet means.

An operating lever 35 is provided which is 'mounted'together with alever 36, on a squared shaft '31 which is journaled in the frame .of'the manifold (see Fig. 2'). .As is shown in'FigsJ2and '3, a cover '38 is provided for themanifold and the above the cover whilethe lever36 is disposed belowthe cover.

An operative connection is established between the lever 35 and each valve operating shaft 3il, the "levertfi, a connecting rod 39, a lever 40 anda clutch assembly '41 which is shown in Fig. '4. The rods :39 are .pin'ned to the lever "36 at Ma and 42b, asillustrated, and at its other end each rod is pinned at #3 to thelever flfl.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seenthat lever 40 is provided with a collar '50 which L5| fixed to the shaft 31 so that shaft I3! are freely rotatable rel- The upper end13'l'a of the "lever 40 and is recessed at 50a to receive a compression spring "52 which urges a shiftable clutch mem- W her 153 upwardly against the manifold coverFHB,

so that its teeth 54 do not engage slotslor grooves 55 formedv in .the collar or .fixed clutchmember .50. A button 56.-is providecl,.-which is freely.rotatable inthe s'hiftable clutch member .53, an d which. protrudes through an opening 51 formed in the manifold cover so as to be accessible to an operator. A pin 58 projects laterally from the shiftable clutch member 53, and in the position shown in Fig. 4 its outer end lies adjacent but above the lower end of a vertical pin 59 fixed to and depending from the manifold cover.

It will thus be apparent that when, and only when, one of the buttons 56 is depressed and held depressed will an operative connection be established between the operating lever 35 and a valve 28; otherwise, movement of the lever 35 to right or to left will not affect either of the valves, which will remain closed. However, if a button 56 is depressed and is held depressed while the operating lever 35 is moved in the appropriate direction (1. e., to the left for the left hand valve structure 26a and to the right for the right hand valve structure 26b), the appropriate pin 58 will pass under the pin 59 and the clutch mechanism 4| will be locked in engaged position, thus holding the selected valve in open position.

Thus, the operator requires both hands to open a valve, and only one valve can be opened at a time. Thus, if the left hand button 56 is depressed and, by mistake, lever 35 is moved to the right, the left hand valve 28, being already closed, will resist movement of the lever while no force will be applied to the right hand valve 28. If it is desired to set either valve for manual control and to relieve the operator of the necessity of holding lever 35 in open position, a latch block 65 (see Fig. 6) is provided which is fixed to the manifold cover 38 by means of a dowel pin 66 and a screw 61. A pair of such blocks, one being shown in full lines and the other in broken lines, will be provided, one of which will be employed for manual control of the right hand valve and the other for manual control of the left hand valve. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that a compression spring 68 is provided which yieldably pivots the'lever 35 so that it can be lifted up and over the latch block 65 and will remain latched in neutral or in open position, as shown in Fig. 6.

Operation of the manifold as thus far described is manually controlled by the operator. Means are also provided for controlling either one or both of the halves 28 by means of the meter 19. Thus, if it is desired to open the right hand valve, latch it in open position and close it automatically after delivery of one thousand gallons, such can be accomplished by the meter control means now to be described.

Referring again to Fig. l, the lever 36 is provided with holes 18 and 1! and with a pivot and connecting pin 1m in addition to the pins 42a and 42b described above. (It is also provided with a hole 12 to register with a hole 13 formed in the meter cover [see Fig. 2] and to receive a dowel pin for aligning the lever properly to make adjustments and connections in the several moving parts.)

An operative connection is established between the lever 36 and the meter [0 as follows: 'A link 14 having a clearance notch 14a is connected at one end to the lever 36 by the pin 11a. At its other end, it is formed with axially spaced holes 15 and 15a for attachment to a pin 16 at the end of an arm 11 of a bell crank lever 18. The bell crank lever 18 pivots on a stud 19, and its other arm 90 is bifurcated at its outer end at 85 (see Fig. 2) to receive a slotted guide member 86 and a pin 81 passing through the bifurcated portion of the lever and through the slot 88 in the guide member 86. The pin 81 is formed with a head 89, a narrow shank portion 90 and a switch I28 may,

thicker end portion 9|. A compression spring 92 urges the pin 81 upwardly so as normally to engage the thick end portion 9| of the pin 81 with the widened end portion 93 of the slot 88. Rods 94 and 95 having clevis connections 96 and 91 with the guide member 86 and with one another, are provided, the rod 95 being slidable through a passage 98 formed in a clamp member 99 forming a part of the meter. The rod 95 is formed with a notch H8 which is intended to engage the nose I l l of a pawl I I2 which is pivoted at H3 on the meter. A tension spring H4 urges the pawl I I2 in a counterclockwise direction, and the other end or arm of the pawl is provided with a roller H5. The roller H5 is intended to be actuated by a cam (not shown) which is operated by the counter (not shown). Such counter-operated cam means are well known in the art, and they are adjustable to operate the cam after a predetermined quantity of liquid has been metered.

Referring now to Fig. '1, if it is desired to place the right hand valve on meter control and to leave the left hand valve on manual control, link 14 is connected as illustrated; i. e., at one end to pin 11a through hole 1! and at its other end to pin 16 through hole 15a. It will be apparent that, by this mode of attachment, when the lever 35 and shaft 31 are turned counterclockwise (or upwards as viewed in Fig. 7), the link 14 will be pulled downwardly and will pivot the bell crank lever 18 in a clockwise direction sufficiently to push the guide member 86 and the rods 94 and 95 until the pawl H2 engages the notch H6 in rod 95. Thus the right hand valve 28 will be opened and will be latched in open position until pawl H2 is rocked out of engagement with the notch H0; Spring 29 on the stem of valve 28 will then immediately operate to close the valve.

In Fig. '1, the manifold operating mechanism is shown in appropriate position for latching the right hand valve open and in Fig. 8 it is shown in appropriate position to open the left hand valve 28. It will be noted that in moving lever 35 to the position shown in Fig. 8, guide member 86 will not be moved sufficiently to engage notch H0 with pawl H2. Hence, the left hand valve will be on manual control.

Similarly, if it is desired to place the left hand valve 28 on meter control, the link 14 will be attached to pin 42b (see Fig. 9). If it is desired to place both valves on meter control, the link 14 will be attached to pin 1| through hole 10 and at its other end it will be connected to pin 16 through hole 15 (see Fig. 10).

An additional safety feature is provided in the form of a micro switch I20 (see Fig. 1) which is actuated by a cam I21 operated by lever 35. The for example, be connected to the ignition system of the tank truck on which the meter and manifold are mounted. In such case, when lever 35 is moved in either direction from neutral, cam |2| will be operated to actuate switch I20, thus opening the ignition circuit to ensure that the truck motor is not operating while fuel is being delivered.

It will thus be apparent that a manifold has been provided which achieves the objects set forth hereinabove. Thus it is operable in connection with a tank truck meter. It may be operated manually or it may be operated automatically under meter control. It is provided with numerous safety features. Thus it is necessary that the operator use one hand to engage the operating lever with the selected valve, and

to use the other hand on the lever and turn it in the proper direction.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or" the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An outlet manifold having an inlet, first and second outlets, first and second valves for said first and second outlets, respectively, resilient means for each said valve normally urging it to closed position, a lever mounted for rotation, means connecting said lever with said valves for opening one of the valves when the lever is rotated in one direction and for opening the other valve when rotated in the opposite direction, each said connecting means including a clutch yieldably urged to disengaged position and operable under application of manual pressure to engage, and latch means for latching each clutch in engaged position after movement of said lever to a substantial extent.

2. A structure of the character described comprising a meter, an outlet manifold having first and second outlets, first and second valves for said first and second outlets, respectively, means normally urging said valves to closed positions, operating means movable to one position to open one of the valves and to another position to open the other of the valves, means for latching the se lected valve in open position including means actuated by said operating means and cooperable means actuated by said meter, said latching means and cooperable means being operable to co-engage and to latch the Operating means when the latter is actuated to open either of said valves and being further operable to unlatch when a predetermined quantity of fiuid has been metered, said latching means and cooperable means being also operable to control either or both of said valves.

3. A device of the character described comprising a meter, an outlet manifold having an inlet for receiving metered fiuid, first and second outlets and first and second valves for said first and second outlets, respectively, means urging said valves to closed positions, means for opening either valve including a lever operable by movement in one direction to open said first valve and by movement in the opposite direction to open said second valve, latch means for latching said lever in valve-opening position including means actuated by the lever and cooperable means actuated by the meter, said latch means including an adjustable member operable to operatively connect it with either or both of said valves, said latch means being also operable to unlatch when a predetermined quantity of fluid has been metered.

4. A device of the character described comprising a meter having an inlet and an outlet, a manifold having an inlet communicating with the meter outlet and having first and second outlets, first and second valves for said first and second outlets, respectively, resilient means for each valve normally urging it to closed position, a rotatable lever, means for each valve providing an operative connection between said lever and valve, said means including a clutch yieldably urged to disengaged position, operable by application of manual pressure to engage and including latch means operable to hold the clutch in engaged position after the lever has been rotated in one direction from a neutral position, said connecting means being such that rotation of the lever in one direction opens one valve and rotation in the opposite direction opens the other valve, and adjustable latch means for placing either or both valves on meter control, said adjustable latch means including a member actuated by said lever and a member actuated by the meter, said adjustable latch means being operable when appropriately adjusted to latch either or both valves latch means when a pr determined quantity of fluid has been metered.

WILLIAM F. BERCK.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

